Automatic feeding device for tack machines



T. HIWI'NIII. AuIoIvIAIIc EEEDIIIG DEVICE EoII TACK IvIIIcIIIIIEs. APPLICATION FILED MAR- 5, 192|I Paene @CII III?. l

II- gg; s Y

.I I. I. I l .......I-...u-...I-...I N

T. H. www. AUTIWA-TIC FEEDING DEVICE FUR TACK MACHINES. l APPLICATION FILED MAIL 5, 192i.. I SL'T., aeued @et @y M2121 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. T. H. WYIIN. AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE FOR TACK MACHINES.

1 n num APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1921. ILLQ I f.

Patented 0015. 10, 1922.V

4 SHEETS-'SHEET 3.

T. H. www. AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE FOR TACK MA CHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1921.

Patented 9ct. l0, 1922.

.umrnn STATES amati PATENT ortica.

THOMAS H. WYNN, `0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE FOR TACK MACHINES.

Application med March 5,

To all whom t may concern.:

l `Be it known that I, THOMAS H. WYNN, a citizen ofthe Dominion of Canada, residing-at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feeding Devices for Tack Machines, Aof. which `the following is a specification.

. ,This invention relates to automatic feeding devices for tack: machines, and in some respects it is anV improvement on the device Shown in my U. S. Patent #1,102,625, the tack machine being of that type in which a strip of material is fed to the machineand `isreversed or turned 4over after each cut," and, thecut being on an angle, a V-shaped blankis severed at eachoperation.

In the ordinary tack machine anoperav-A. tor is required for about everyusix machines,

and his work consists in placing the .strips of steel in the machine, as the strips are"l cut up. This replacing takes timeLand the time isV multiplied byV the` number of machines, and the lost time therefore amounts to considerable in the long run.

The object of the present device is to provide improved means for automatically feeding the strips of stock to the tack ma chine, the feeding being effected, in a general way, by automatically registering strips in succession with the barrel through which the strip is fed, Ithe strips being brought into positionsuccessively by a traveling carrier which can be loaded with a `large num ber of strips and which is automatically actuated by the operation of the tack machine to feed the strips at properly timed intervals.r

A further object ofthe invention is to provide means for governing the operation of the carrier referred to. i

A further object ofthe invention ,is to provide improved means for gripping and` advancing the strip from the barrel, and presenting the same to] the cutters of the tack machine. i

Other improvements in the details of the device will be apparent from the following descript-ionand the accompanying drawings.

In the drawing, Fig. l1 is a side elevation y of my machine shown as connected toa tack machine; Fig. 2 is a `Section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail in section of one of the carrying lingers; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a vtack machine showing the gripping'A mechanism mounted thereon; Fig.

1921; serial No. 449,935.

5 is a perspective view of the gripping mechanism; Fig. 6 is a detail in section of one of the bearing brackets and the manner of mounting the shaft; Fig. 7 is a `perspective view of the discharge end of the feed barrel.; Fig. 8 is a vertical section of the parts shown in Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a detail in side elevation of a latch which when released causes anotherstrip of material to be fed into the barrel, and Fig. 10 is a top planof Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a frame or housing connected to a tack machine the base of which is indicated by 2, by a connecting member 3. Carried near theupper and lower ends of the housing 1, are vshafts 4 and 5 on which are mounted Sprockets 6 and 7. Chains 8 and 9 work on these sprockets and have bars 10, placed on an angle as Shown, connected to them, the bars slanting downwardly toward the tack. machine. mounted or hung near each end of the rods 10. These fingers are hooked or l..-sha'ped7 projecting downwardly at 12 from the rod '10, then horizontally as at 13 (Fig. 3) and then upwardly as at 14 (Fig. 1). A web 15 connects these three parts and forms with the part 13 a seat on which the` metal strips, indicated in dotted lines at 16 in Fig. 3, are placed. The web 15 prevents them from Sliding off lthe finger. The whole forms a traveling carrier which can be loaded in advance with a plurality of strips.

Attached to the housing 1 and spaced in front ofthe chains 8 and 9 are two parallel tracks 17 and 18 which form a guide for a vertical arm 19 which is attached to one end of a rack 20; ears 21 on the arm 19 riding above and below the rails 17 and 18.

The forward end of the rack 2O works between four rollers 22, two being on each side of the rack which rollers are mounted on the housing 1. The upper end of the arm 19 has a cup-shaped member 23 from which projects forwardly an arm 24C which is in the same plane with an arm 25 projecting outwardly from the housing 1, these arms being located in the path of the strips on the fingers 11. As the sprockets 6 and 7 revolve and the chains 8 and 9 are fed downwardly the rods 10, fingers 11 and metal Strips 16 will also be fed downwardly until they reach the parts 24 and 25 which are placed as stated above in the path of the strips 15. These Fingers 11 are rotatably4 parts 24 and 25 will then receive or pick up the strips 16 and the fingers 11 and connected parts will continue to travel down. Then as the rack 20 is released as will hereinafter be described, a weight 26 which is connected by a cable 27 to the arm 19 and rack 2O will cause the arm 19, cup 28 and arm 24 to move forwardly, carrying the strip 16 which has been deposited on the arms 24 and 25 into the feed barrel 28, which is constructed and is rotated or reversed substantially the same as-tha-t shown in my Patent #1,102,625, eX- cept at its forward end which will be de scribed hereinafter.

A flat lever 29 is pivoted at 30 to a vertical post 81, and has pivoted to a depending bracket 32 a lever 38 which in turn has a pawl 34 pivoted at 35 to its upper end, a spring 36 tending to keep the forward end of the pawl 34 up to engagement with the rack 20. Pivoted to the member 29 directly in frontof the lever 38 is another pawl or detent 37 which has a spring 38 tending to force the forward end up as shown.

A rod 89 which works the mechanism which rotates the barrel 28 back and forth (said mechanism being the same as shown in my said Patent #1,102,625) is connected; to the lower end of the lever 33 and as it moves back and forth it rocks the lever 83 on its pivot and consequently rocks the pawl 34. This moves Athe rack 2() forwardly and the detent 37 lwill hold the rack in this position while the pawl 34 is moving back to engage another tooth. As the rack, and consequently the arm 19, nears its outermost position an adjusting screw 40 carried by the lower end of the arm 19 comes in contact with an arm 41 which is pivoted on a shaft 42, said arm 41 carrying a pawl 43 which en gages a ratchet 44 which is keyed to the shaft 42. @n the other end of the shaft 42 is a beveled gear 45 which meshes with a beveled gear 446 carried by the shaft 5. As the shaft 42 and gears 45 and 46 are rotated the shaft 5 will be rotated and consequently the chains 8 and 9 and their correlated parts will be moved downwardly. lVhen `the rack 2O is released and drawn forwardlyby the weight 26 the arm 41 will be returned by a spring 47 to engage another tooth on the rack 44. An adjustable stop 48 limits the return movement of the arm 41.

The forward end of the lever 29 is bent upwardly as at 49 and has a latch mechanism generally indicated at 50 which engages a catch 51 fastened to the tack ma.- chine. When the end of the strip in the barrel 28 passes a certain point in the barrel it will release a mechanism hereinafter described which when the barrel is rotated will release the latch 50 and allow the forward end of the bar 29 to be dra-wn downwardly by a spring 52 thereby disengaging the pawls 34 and 37from the rack 20. This will `of the bar 29 and will force the end 49 downwardly until the latch 50 engages the catch 51. This will bring the pawls 34 and 37 into engagement with the rack and it will be moved backward by the actuation of the pawl 34.

The latch member 50 consists of a sliding latch pin 55 held on the bar 49 by brackets 56 and 57, a spring 58 being wound around the reduced end 59 of the latch and interposed between the shoulder 6() and the bracket 57. A bell crank 61 is pivoted at 62 to the bar 49 and the downwardly projecting arm 62 is slotted as at 68, in which slot a pin 64 on the latch 55 works. As will be readily seen, when the horizontal arm 65 of the bell crank 61 is pressed downwardly the vertical arm 462 willl be forced rearwardly thus forcing back the latch 55 against the pressure of the spring 58 and releasing it from the catch 51.

Within the forward end of the barrel 28 are sloping guide blocks 66 and 67 which are cut out as indicated at 68 and 69 to receive a finger '70 shaped as shown which is pivoted at 71 between two brackets 72. A spring 78, coiiledaround the pivot 71 and having one end fastened to the barrel 28l at 74 and the other end fastened to the linger at 75, will cause the finger 7 0 to swing to the position shown in the-dotted lines in Fig. 8 when the end of the strip 16 passes the end 76 of the linger 70. Then as the barrel is rotated the linger 7 (l will come in contact with the horizontal arm 65 of the bell crank 61 forcing it downwardly and thus releasing the latch 55 which will allow the feeding mechanism to operate as vhereinbefore described.

`Projecting forwardly from the front end of the barrel 28 are two parallel spaced plates 77 which have their forward ends connected to a :head piece 78 which is flat on its upper and lower sides as indicated at 79 and rounded at its ends as indicated at 80. A hole 81 in the head piece 78 is in alignment with an opening 82 inthe end of the barrel 28 through which the stock passes. The strip of stock is slightly wider than the plates 77, so that its projecting edges 4may be gripped as `hereinafter explained.

The nose piece 78 rests on the knife bed 85 of the tack machine and the 1n aterial projects forward from the nose piece until it strikes the knife bed at which point the iertical 'knife of the ordinary tack ma chine cuts it. The nose piece 78 is shaped as-shown sothat the tube will rise as it is turned,

thus raising. the material from the lmife bed which is necessary in `order to turn it.

knife cuts the material at an angle and the materiall is rotated so that it will cut first from one side and the next cut will be cut .from the other side.` This is so the material when cut off will be V-shaped. A f `Two jaws 83 and 84 are positioned between the end of the barrel 28 and thenose piece 7 Sand are so adopted as to engage the material at the edges of the lplates 77 and hold itwhile a tack is being cut and then move it vforward for the next tack to be cut from it.

`The jaws 83 and 84` are carried by two shafts 86 and 87, theshaft 86 being carried between bearing blocks 88 and 89 and pivoted as shown in Fig. 6. This will allow for a slight adjustment of the shaft 86 in either direction. The block 83 is fastened rigidly to the shaft 86 by a set screw 90. The shaft 87'is in parallel alignment with the-shaft 86' and has one end offset as at 91 so that its center line will coincide with the center line of the shaft 86 extended.

`The block 84 is rigidly fastened to the shaft by opening and closing the jaws. Aivertical arm 97 is rigidly connected toaone end of the shaft 86 and is adaptedl'to be moved back and forth by a rod 98 which is actuated by a cam 99, thec'ams being carried by the main shaft 100 of the tack machine as: described in mysaid patent.

l/Vhen the jaws 83 and 84 are brought together by the cam 95` and connected parts to '.grip the tack material, and while thus gripped the cam 99 actuates the lever 97 and turns the shaft 86 which in turn swings the jaws 83 and 84 forwardly, thus forcing the material forward into the tack machinev 1n position for a blank to be cut and when vthe blankis cut, instantly thejaws release the grip\,.allowing the feed barrel to turn, and' while the .Y feed barrel is turning, the jaws swing back by means of a spring attached to the bed of the tack machine, in position for another grip.` v

rIhe operation of the machine will prob ratchet bar 20. The weight 26 then pulls this ratchet bar to-ward the tack machine, to-

gether with the arm 19, and the arm 24 and cup 23 take up the strip of material and shove it endwise into the barrel 28, through which it follows the short end of the preceding strip, resetting the finger 7 0 and also swinging the lever 29 back to Jthe position shown in Fig. l, reengaging the latch 55 and also the pawls 35 and 37. Then the opera tion of the tack machine actuates the lever 33 to slide the rack 2O back to original position, at the end of which movement the screw 40 operates the pawl lever 4l to turn the shaft 42 and rotate the sprockets 7 causing the carrier to feed down another` strip 16 onto the arms 24 and 25 for the next operation. The strips 16 will be loaded on the respective hooks 11 in advance, and when once loaded the machine will continue in automatic operation` New strips, can be loaded in as occasion requires.

The invention is not limited to the particular mechanism shown and described, but various modifications may be made within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: v i. 7

l. In a feeding mechanism the combination of a vertically arranged` endless carrier, means to support strips of material in spaced relation thereon, means located in the path of said strips topick up the same in succession from the carrier, and means to ad- Vance the strips so picked up, crosswise of the carrier. f i l i 2. In a feeding mechanism' the combination of a pair of endless belts, rods extending between the belts, hooks carried by the rods and adapted to support strips of material, arms projecting into the path of the strips as they are carried by the hooks, and adapted to pick up the strips from the hooks, and means to advance one of said arms to feed the strips so picked up laterally with respect to the belts, whereby to feed said strips successively into a machine. j

3. In a feeding mechanism the combination of a pair of endless belts, rods extending between the belts, hooks carried by the rods and adapted to support strips of material, arms projecting into the path of the strips as theyare carried by the hooks, and adapted to pickup the strips from the hooks, and means to advance one yofsaid arms to feed the strips so picked up laterally with respect to the belts, whereby to feed said strips successively into a machine,

`said means comprising a reciprocating bar adapted to pick up the strips from the hooks, and means 'to advance one of said arms to feed the strips so picked up laterally with respect to the belts, whereby to feed said strips successively into a machine, the last mentioned means comprising a ratchet har connected te the movable arm, a weight connected to said bar lto more the same forwardly, and pawl mechanism engageable with the ratchet bar and automatically actuated by the machine to return the bar to original position.

5. In a feeding mechanism the combination of a pair of endless belts, rodsextcndving between the belts, hooks carried the rods and adapted to supportl strips of material, arms projecting` into the path of thev st 1ips as they are carried by the hooks, and adapted vto pick up the strips from the hooks, and means to advance one of said arms to feed the strips so picked up laterally with respect to `the belts, whereby to feed Vsaid strips successively into a machine, the last mentioned means comprising a ratchet bar connected to the movable arm, a weight connected to said bar to move the same forwardly, and pawl mechanism engageable with the ratchet of the bar and automatically actuatedl by the machine to return the bar to original position, and means actuated by the return of the bar to advance the belts and deposit another strip of material on the arms.

6. In a feeding mechanism the combination of a rotary barrel through which strips of material are fed, an endless carrier provided with means to support a plurality of strips in spaced relation thereon, and means to successively advance said strips fromsaid carrier into said barrel.

7. In a feeding mechanism the Icombination of a. rotary barrel through which strips of material are fed, an endless carrier provided with means to support a. plurality of str-ips in spaced relation thereon, and means to successively advance said strips from said carrier into said barrel, said means including a lever loperatively engaging saidmeans in one position, and an operating connection between the barrel and the lever controlling the position of the latter.

8. The combination with a cutting ma` chine, of a feeding mechanism therefor including a rotary barrel through which strips of material `are fed to the machine, a traveling carrier for said strips, means to actuate the carrier and advance strips therefrom into the barrel, and means carried by the barrel to control the time of said actuation.

V9. The combination with a cutting machine adapted to operate on strips of ma.

terial, of a rotary feeding harrel through whichthe strips are fed to said machine, an endless carrier adjacent the `inlet end of the barrel and .provided with means to carry spaced strips into alignment therewith, means automatically actuated by the machine to advance strips successively into the barrel, and means to govern the time of said actuation.

lO. In a feeding mechanism the combination of an endless carrier provided with means vto support a plurality of spaced strips of material thereon, a bar slidable across the carrier and provided with an arm located in the path of movement of the strips and adapted to pick up and shift strips successively from the carrier, means to reciprocate the bar, and means actuated by the reciprocation of the bar to automatically advance `the carrier.

ll. The combination with tach ma cliineor. the like, of a rotary barrel through which material is fed to the machine, the end of said barrel being provided with a pair of spaced plates, and a headV at the end of said plates, said head having a camshaped end adapted to lift the end of the barrel when it is rotated.

l2. `In a machine of the kind described the combination with a feeding tube 2S, of the plates 7? at the end ythereof and the head 78 at the end of said plates, said head having thereof.

i3. In a feeding mechanism the combination of a guide for a strip of material, a pair of jaws adjacent the end of said guide, a rock shaft on which said jaws are carried, one of said jaws being slidable on the shaft, a rod connectedto the slidable jaw and working through the other jaw, and means to shift the rod lengthwise to open and close the jaws.

le. In a feeding mechanism the combination of a guide for a strip of material, a pair of jaws adjacent the end of said guide, a rock shaft on which said jaws are `carried, oncof said jaws being slidable on the shaft, a rod connected to the slidalole jaw and working through the other jaw, and means to shift the rod lengthwise to open and close the jaws, said rod having a cranked end concentric with the axis of the rock shaft, whereby said rod may be turned.

In testimony whereof, I do affix my sig# nature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS H. "WYNN,

cam projections 8O at .opposite sides Vitnesses JOHN A. BOMMHARDT, Bassin F. POLLAK. 

